Innovation Consultant? Is That Like Jumbo Shrimp?

Innovation continues to be a hot topic in the consulting ecosphere. A quick Google search yielded 310 million hits for Innovation Consultant. Large corporations have created innovation departments and even have full-time staff trying to catch that lightning in a bottle. But talking about innovation is far different from fostering and accepting innovation. 

Enter the Innovation Consultant. As described by Rasmus Hansen and Jens Skibsted: “The new breed of innovation professionals can be placed in two categories: innovation custodians and innovation word-slingers. The custodians are middle managers assigned to oversee the innovators and their processes. The word-slingers are external consultants that will take corporate managers through endless innovation workshops or blabber on about the aforementioned processes.”[1]

Stirring the pot more, Hansen and Skibsted posted an article on Fast Company stating, “User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs,”[2] While on the surface this may seem unrelated to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations, I believe their post is compelling and tangentially related to ERP projects. Hansen and Skibsted’s thesis caused many folks to infer that consultants should not ask users “what to make.” I agree that some users don’t know what they want, much less know what they need. Furthermore, some users are not familiar with modern software applications and their strengths/weaknesses. Knowledge is only one challenge in ERP implementations. Change that goes hand in hand with innovation is another huge challenge. I have recent experience with profitable companies that have high tenure workforces. The senior employees were frustratingly resistant to embrace something new, even though it may be useful, desirable, or innovative. Consequently, my interpretation of the Hansen and Skibsted Fast Company article is that consultants must help clients determine what they need. Consultants must be that catalyst that enables breakthroughs in stagnation and complacency.

It is the job of any consultant, and not just an “innovation consultant,” to guide clients while they answer the question of what to use and how to use it. Consultants must do their homework, which includes observations, interviews, and thorough research of the culture of the company and the employees. The real fun begins when consultants actively listen to their clients, yet recommend to the client what they need, not necessarily what the client wants. Giving a client what they want rather than what they need is a tiger trap that some consultants fall into, and related to what the Hansen and Skibsted are nibbling at. 

So, I am supposed to be writing about Innovation Consultants. How can a consultant be innovative without necessarily being an Innovation Consultant? How can he or she help a client nurture innovation? I am defining innovation as the process of translating an idea into a good or service that creates value that customers will purchase. All consultants should be championing innovation that will result in satisfying the needs and expectations of the customers, rather than focusing solely on what will make the project team happy. The first requirement is open ears and a closed mouth. The second requirement is a seasoned eye for “weird” ideas that can be translated to efficiencies. Nurture the “we have never done that here” ideas and translating them into future state processes that add value. Sometimes consultants fall back onto “best practices” that they have witnessed over the years, instead of being open-minded to a new process that is innovative and better suited for the new realities in global commerce. If the best practice is truly the best future state process, I say party on and add it to the project plan. However, if the best practice is not what is needed for the company to be competitive in the global commons, then perhaps it is time to be innovative. 

Let me also unequivocally state that not every company is an Apple or Google, legendary for their innovative cultures. Not every company needs to disrupt their market, they just need to get more efficient and competitive. That usually means doing things differently. I like to think that “different” is not always “better.” However, “better” is always “different.” Just like innovation: a better future state is almost always somehow different than the current state. That is what an innovative consultant, and not necessarily an Innovation Consultant, brings to the table. Articulating a vision of how things should be and then acting as a guide to take you there. At LTA, we may not be innovative in the way we dress, but we can guide your organization to a newer, and often time more innovative, future. While we are not Innovation Consultants, our team is filled with innovative consultants with a knack to help you make your company be better.

  [1] Hansen, Rasmus Bech and Skibsted, Jens Martin, “Do Innovation Consultants Kill Innovation?” Fast Company Magazine, available on line: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665764/do-innovation-consultants-kill-innovation [accessed January 10, 2020].

[2] Hansen and Skibsted, “User Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs, Just Ask Apple and Ikea,” available on line : https://www.fastcompany.com/1663220/user-led-innovation-cant-create-breakthroughs-just-ask-apple-and-ikea [accessed January 10, 2020]